Near Ellis Peak at +8000 feet

Tahoe Adventures!

If the real agent Mueller wants to chat with me, I'm sure he knows how to find me more directly than via this mass email that looks like a "Nigerian scam".

-----Original Message-----
From: FBI WASHINGTON DC [mailto:robertmueller3@fbi.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 12:33 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: WE NEED PROOF

ANTI-TERRORIST AND MONETARY CRIMES DIVISION FBI HEADQUARTERS WASHINGTON, D.C.
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
935 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535-0001
7/12/2011

BANK OF NIGERIA TRANSFERRED 10,500,000.00 US DOLLARS TO BANK OF AMERICA IN YOUR FAVOR AS THE BENEFICIARY BY INHERITANCE MEANS. BANK OF NIGERIA USED WHAT WE CALL “SECRET DIPLOMATIC TRANSIT PAYMENT” S.D.T.P METHOD TO PAY THIS FUND BY WIRE TRANSFER. SECRET DIPLOMATIC PAYMENTS ARE NOT MADE UNLESS THE FUNDS ARE RELATED TO TERRORIST ACTIVITIES.

THE QUESTION I ASK YOU IS THIS, WHY MUST YOUR PAYMENT BE MADE IN A SECRET TRANSFER, IF THE TRANSACTION IS LEGITIMATE, IF YOU ARE NOT A TERRORIST, THEN WHY DID YOU NOT RECEIVE THE MONEY DIRECTLY INTO YOUR ACCOUNT? WHY DID YOU INSTRUCT THEM TO USE A CODED MEANS TO TRANSFER YOUR FUND? FUNDS LIKE THIS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN RELATED TO TERRORIST ACTIVITIES/MONEY LAUNDERING, WE DO NOT WANT YOU TO GET INTO TROUBLE AS SOON AS THESE FUNDS ARE CREDITED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT BECAUSE YOU MIGHT BE INNOCENT, WHICH IS MY PRESUMPTION FOR NOW, BUT YOU NEED TO PROOF THIS TO THE FBI.

F.B.I STOPPED THE TRANSFER OF $10,500,000.00 USD THROUGH A SECRET DIPLOMATIC TRANSIT ACCOUNT (S.D.T.A) THAT WAS USED TO WIRE THIS FUND TO YOU. WE ADVICE YOU TO CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY, AS YOUR FUNDS ARE STOPPED AND HELD IN OUR CUSTODY, YOU ARE TO PROVIDE US WITH THE DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY SEAL OF TRANSFER (DIST) DOCUMENT THAT ACCOMPANIED YOU’RE FUNDS WITHIN THE NEXT 3 DAYS.

TO PROOF TO US THAT THE FUNDS YOU ARE RECEIVING FROM NIGERIA IS TERRORIST/DRUG FREE AND NOT PROCEEDS FROM MONEY LAUNDERING. FAILURE TO PRODUCE THE DIST DOCUMENT, WE SHALL IMPOUND THE TRANSFER AND PROSECUTE YOU FOR CRIMINAL OFFENSE, BUT ON THE CONTRARY YOUR FUNDS WILL BE RELEASED TO IMMEDIATELY WE RECEIVE THE DIST DOCUMENT. WE HAVE DECIDED TO CONTACT YOU DIRECTLY BY EMAIL BECAUSE OF TIME AND YOUR PHONE NUMBER HERE ISN’T GOING THROUGH, ACQUIRE THE DIST DOCUMENT AS PROOF THAT YOU ARE THE RIGHTFUL BENEFICIARY,

THE DIST IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE DIST DOCUMENT GUARANTEES YOU OF THE FOLLOWING

60T YOUR CREDIT PAYMENT IS IRREVOCABLE

61H YOU ARE EMPOWERED TO RECEIVE THE FUNDS WITHOUT FURTHER SCRUTINY

62J YOUR BANK CAN EITHER BE IN USA/UK/OUTSIDE OR ANYWHERE YOU ARE HAVING FULL RESIDENCY

REPLY IMMEDIATELY WITH THIS DIST DOCUMENT IF YOU WANT TO RECEIVE YOUR TRANSFERRED FUNDS WE INTERCEPTED

ROBERT S. MUELLER, III
DIRECTOR
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535

CC CANADIAN POLICE ASSOCIATION
CC GENERAL INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT (GID) CC ASIA PACIFIC GROUP ON MONEY LAUNDERING (APG) CC INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF) CC INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF SECURITIES COMMISSIONS (IOSCO) CC ECONOMIC FINANCIAL CRIME COMMISSION (EFCC)

The skimmer I found in Belltown, May 15th, 2011

UPDATE: Since writing this piece, I've learned my AMEX card, which wasn't used in the skimmer, was cloned and used to buy $300 of maternity clothing in Philly the next day. No good deed goes unpunished!

UPDATE2: Revised the incorrect absolutism "none of those" with "few of those" below.

It was Sunday night, on my way to a show, when I stopped at my neighborhood bank to get some money. You know the routine: take out wallet, remove ATM card, swipe it through the card-reader on the door, then enter the vestibule. Except this time, something caught my attention as I slid my card into the reader: it seemed too large and freshly painted. My Spider-sense told me, "this isn't right." I pulled my card out, the device split apart and fell to the ground. I'd found my first 'skimmer'.

'Skimming' is a form of identity theft in which the information encoded in the magnetic stripe of a bank card is surreptitiously captured for re-use by others. Skimmers are the phony card readers used to do this, and they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Skimming is illegal, the people who do it are crooks, and law enforcement have been hard at work capturing them in the Seattle area. Years ago a very polite but firm agent from my bank called to inquire if I had meant to purchase 3 Sony televisions in Lahore, Pakistan the previous day. "Where is your credit card now, sir?" he asked.  "I'm sitting on it..." I replied.  Turns out I'd been skimmed at a restaurant the night before. Card cancelled, new card issued.

This time, the skimmer was paired with a phony convex security mirror concealing a small video camera. The mirror and camera were adhered with glue to the top of the frame around the ATM machine. The skimmer captures your card information, the hidden camera records you entering your PIN number. Put the two together and in a few hours thieves could collect dozens of usable details to clone onto cards or sell. Using a similar technique thieves stole $400,00 in just two months from Eastside banks.

When I inspected this device it was clear it had been stuck to the authentic card reader with tape (the gray squares in the photo). It had a green light on, a battery, and the card-reading components. I don't know enough to tell whether it was storing card data locally or transmitting it in real-time via Bluetooth. I assumed it held card details belonging to me and my neighbors and shouldn't be left sitting on the ground to be collected.  Skimming and other forms of 'electronic crime'  have grown so prevalent the Secret Service operates an Electronic Crimes Task Force spanning 25 cities across the US. The Seattle office of this task force might even be in my neighborhood. So my first priority was to secure the skimmer with law enforcement or the bank. It was harder than I expected to do so:

1. I called 911 and was told "If you can't hang around until an officer arrives, that's ok." And leave the skimmer? No way.
2. I called the Chase Bank Customer Service number posted on the bank door, but couldn't bypass the automated system without an account number
3. I entered bogus account numbers into Chase's automated telephone system just to get a live person on the phone
4. I asked the CHASE representative if they could respond locally after hours, but all he could do was record the call and pass it along
5. I waited 30-minutes for Police, then picked up both parts using my shirt-sleeve and took them home
6. I called the Seattle branch of the Secret Service's Electronic Crimes Task Force, but the number was disconnected
7. I emailed the Seattle branch of the Secret Service's Electronic Crimes Task Force, but my email bounced back as undeliverable
8. I called the Secret Service in Seattle directly and asked for the local special agent on the ECTF (he appears in the press a lot on this very issue)
9. After getting routed to another agent instead, I left a voice-mail message, but got no reply
10. I tweeted a photo of it to @SeattlePD asking that their detective on the ECTF contact me, but got no reply

I finally called 911 again on Monday morning, and asked that an officer come to my house. When he arrived, we walked across the street and met the bank manager. She indicated all she'd do is turn the device over to the officer. But before we could do that, he got another call and ran out. While humorous at the time, I have to appreciate that officers on duty are interrupt-based. Any new emergency could trump whatever they are doing in the moment. He called back later, confirmed he had the device, took my details and that was that.

While there's several good ideas online for how consumers should handle card  fraud generally, few of those help in the moment. So if you find a skimmer in the wild, here's my advice. First, physically inspect every device before swiping your card. Check that the reader is secure, and not a glued-on/taped-on decoy. If it is phony, then:

1. Look around you - Determine if your surroundings are safe enough for you to stay in the area a bit longer (some thieves might linger nearby)
2. Call 911 immediately - ask if there's an Electronic Crime detective or officer they can send over
3. Notify the bank - alert them to the device's presence, and make sure they remove it, turn off the ATMs, or otherwise block it's further use
4. Tweet it - One neighbor who'd used this ATM the previous hour saw my photo of the skimmer online and cancelled his card right away
5. Turn it in ASAP - If law and bank officials can't respond immediately (like on a Sunday night), secure the device yourself (use gloves or put it in a bag) and deliver it to your local precinct. Or call 911 and await their arrival in the comfort of your own home (instead of out at the bank at night).

Obviously, if you don't feel comfortable remaining in the area or taking it home with you, you should still call 911, notify the bank, and report it via social media. Banks themselves could streamline this process. Chase Bank offers an unhelpful 9 different phone numbers to call to report fraud. A phone-number to a live corporate security agent posted on the door would have been more comforting.

Stay sharp, and bank safe!

My reply at bottom:

From: Fred Wesson [mailto:fredwesson11@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2011 10:21
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: Greetings 

Dear Friend,

I am Fred Wesson. Chief Inspection Officer, United Nations Diplomatic Cargo Inspection Facility at Gatwick International Airport London United Kingdom . During my inspection, I discovered a 12months abandoned shipment in our Cargo facility here. Having being abandoned for so long, I decided to scan the shipment to examine its content. The scanned revealed an undisclosed sum of money in a Metal Trunk Box weighing approximately 180kg. I believe the consignment was abandoned because the content was not properly declared by the consignee as money rather it was declared as personal effect to avoid diversion by the Shipping Agent or any body. Further investigation I made revealed that the shipment originated from one of the corrupt President of a country. He chose to send the money out of his country this way because the money must have been looted from his country’s treasury.

On my assumption and estimation, the box contains about Four or Five million American money in One Hundred dollar bills neatly packed and sealed in the Metal Trunk Box as revealed by the high resolution scan I conducted. The details of the consignment including name and the official document from United Nation office are still tagged on the Metal Trunk Box. Neither I nor anyone can unilaterally move this luggage from here without having any person who will stand as the recipient. Since the original recipient have a similar name with you, I intend to raise a new shipment document using the particulars on the luggage to redirect the luggage to you as the original recipient.

I want us to execute this deal and share the money, since I have established the source. If you accept to work with me, I will arrange for the Box to be moved out of this Airport to your address. I intend to deploy the services of a secured shipping company to provide the security it requires to your doorstep delivery. We will share the money 60 percent to me and 40 percent to you. I made a lot of search looking for a person that has a similar name to the name tagged on the consignment before I finally got you.

Please provide your Phone number, Full address, Name of the nearest Airport around you and other details I may need for this project because I can get everything concluded within 14 days upon your acceptance and provision of your address for delivery. Below are my email and direct phone contacts. I wait to hear from you.

Fred Wesson
CHIEF INSPECTION OFFICER
United Nations Diplomatic Cargo Inspection Facility
Gatwick International Airport, London United Kingdom.
+44 703 592 6081

No good deed goes un-punished, so here-with is my reply:

Fred,

Thanks for you note. While the offer sounds exciting, I have some reservations.

I imagine to attain the job of “Chief Inspection Officer” of a diplomatic facility run by the UN, you would have to exhibit a pretty high level of integrity, ethics, and following-all-the-rules. Your proposal, however, doesn’t. I suspect that if the box contains the money you believe it does, the appropriate course of action would be to escalate the matter to your superiors and attempt to repatriate the money to the country who’s citizens it likely and rightfully belongs.

Soliciting support for your scheme from strangers via email sounds like one of those Nigerian scams I’ve seen on TV. I imagine that’s not something an officer of a UN facility such as yourself would wish to be mistaken for.

All the best in resolving this matter by-the-book, and please don’t contact me again.

AMD

Special thanks go out to my new running circle who tipped me off to North Olympic Half-Marathon, my close friend Micky who's hosting me a second year in a row for the Eugene Half-Marathon, and to my long-time running buddy Tea-Leaf who registered me for the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon for my 40th birthday.

And check out the 2011 Running Playlist I put together (at bottom). I use the same playlist all year, chosen for target pace and distance. This year's list has less techno, more classic rock, and includes half-dozen contemporary Led Zeppelin covers, and of course, James Bond theme songs!

My 2011 Running Playlist:

• Big Daddy Kane/Jurassic 5/Percy P - A Day at the Races
• Black Eyed Peas - One Tribe
• Cee Lo Green - Bright Lights Bigger City
• Cee Lo Green - Fuck You [Explicit]
• The Clash - Rock the Casbah
• David Bowie - Cat People (Putting Out Fire)
• Depeche Mode – Useless
• Dread Zeppelin - Your Time Is Gonna Come
• Elbow - One Day Like This
• Eminem – Superman
• The Fixx - One Thing Leads To Another
• Foreigner - Juke Box Hero
• Goldbug - Whole Lotta Love
• Groove Armada – Madder
• Jack White & Alicia Keys - Another Way To Die
• Jethro Tull - Locomotive Breath
• Missing Persons - Walking In L.A.
• The Moody Blues - I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock & Roll Band)
• Peter Frampton - Do You Feel Like We Do
• Peter Gabriel – Sledgehammer
• Pink Floyd -  Have A Cigar
• Primal Scream - Come Together
• Propellerheads - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
• Queen - We Will Rock You
• Reverend Horton Heat – Marijuana
• Rob D - Clubbed To Death (Kurayamino Mix)
• Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Stairway To Heaven
• Rush - The Spirit of Radio
• Rush - Working Man
• The Sisters Of Mercy – More
• The Soul Rebels - Let Your Mind Be Free
• The Sounds - Living in America
• The Soup Dragons Feat. Junior Reid - I'm Free
• Supertramp - Take the Long Way Home
• Van Halen - Runnin' With The Devil
• The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
• The Who - Join Together
• The Who - Eminence Front
• Yes - Owner of a Lonely Heart